Hanna Flats Project Area Good Neighbor Authority

Transcription

1 Hanna Flats Project Area Good Neighbor Authority Forest Health Protection, Coeur d Alene Field Office CFO TR FHP Personnel Present: Paul Zambino, Plant Pathologist, ; Gina Davis, Forest Entomologist, Agency/Unit: USDA Forest Service, Idaho Panhandle National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District Local Contact: Ed Wingert, Idaho Department of Lands Forester, ; Elisa Stamm, Forest Silviculturist, Keywords: Root disease, Armillaria, Heterobasidion, schweinitzii root and butt rot, heart rot, rust red stringy rot, Indian paint fungus, Douglas fir beetle, fir engraver beetle, mountain pine beetle, pine engraver beetle, red turpentine beetle, wood borers, Hanna Flats project area Trip Date: May 2, 2017 Hanna Flats Project Location: Idaho Panhandle National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District, south of Nordman, Idaho. The project area is flanked on the east by Highway 57 and extends to Bismark Mountain to the north, Bath Gorge to the west, and Lamb Creek Road to the south. Size (acres): The Hanna Flats Project Area includes about 8,500 acres, of which about 7,400 acres are on National Forest System land. Primary Forest/Cover Type(s) by decreasing prevalence: western hemlock, grand fir, western red cedar, western white pine, Douglas fir, western larch, lodgepole pine, subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce Project Objectives: Forest Health Protection was requested to confirm current and potential future risk of mortality from insect and disease agents within the Hanna Flats Project Area. Project objectives were provided in the March 27, 2017 Project Initiation Letter: Reduce the risk or extent of, or increase resilience to, insect or disease infestation; Increase the quantity and maintain or improve the vigor (health) of long lived, drought resistant and fire adapted western white pine, western larch and ponderosa pine trees; Decrease the quantity and modify the arrangement of hazardous fuels to lessen the current and future potential wildfire risk to people, private lands and resource values; Contribute to the local economy and forest products industry through timber projection.

2 Primary Damage Agents Observed Tree Species Affected: 1) Armillaria root disease (Armillaria sp.) Douglas fir, Engelmann spruce, western hemlock, western red cedar 2) Heterobasidion root disease: (Heterobasidion occidentalis), a.k.a. S type annosus root disease Douglas fir, grand fir, western red cedar; (Heterobasidion irregulare), a.k.a. P type annosus root disease lodgepole pine 3) Schweinitzii root disease (Phaeolus schweinitzii) Douglas fir, grand fir 4) Yellow root rot (Perenniporia subacida) Douglas fir 5) Cedar laminated root and butt rot (Phellinus weirii) western redcedar 6) Larch dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium laricis) western larch. 7) White pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) western white pine 8) Indian paint fungus (Echinodontium tinctorium) grand fir, western hemlock 9) Red ring rot (Phellinus pini) lodgepole pine 10) Rhabdocline needle cast (Rhabdocline pseutotsugae) Douglas fir 11) Fir engraver beetle (Scolytus ventralis) grand fir 12) Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, western white pine 13) Pine engraver beetle (Ips pini) ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, western white pine 14) Sequoia pitch moth (Synanthedon sequoia) lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine Observations and information on primary damage agents: Observation points and descriptions of units and forest health issues at each point are provided in Figure 7 and Table 1. Disease and Decay Armillaria Root Disease Armillaria root disease was infecting trees and causing mortality in units A, B, C and G, as indicated by fans or imprints of fungus mycelium (Figure 1). Douglas fir was the species most susceptible to this pathogen. Douglas fir trees of any age can be infected and rapidly killed. Large grand fir were dying of Armillaria root disease in unit C. However, some mature grand firs, western redcedars and western hemlocks on other units were expressing some tolerance to Armillaria infections. We saw inverted V shaped basal cankers in some trees of these species on all Armillaria containing units, indicating Armillaria infections restricted by the trees under present conditions. These infections could become more aggressive if fungus vigor increases, for example, if the fungus is able to colonize freshly created stumps. Armillaria was not detected on units D, E, F. This could have been because the fungus had spottier presence or because stands were in an early, low activity phase of root disease (either of these causes could be explanations in units E and F) or because other root diseases dominated in root systems in some soil conditions (possibly the case for unit D). 2

3 Heterobasidion (Annosus) Root Disease Heterobasidion root disease was detected by its typical decay in tipped out trees that at early stages separates along growth rings ( laminated decay ) and eventually becomes spongy white rot decay with dark flecks. Incidence was likely higher than we detected, especially in grand fir. In grand fir, Heterobasidion often causes extensive decay in the inaccessible taproot and a central column of butt rot deep within the stump, while accessible secondary roots near the surface may be unaffected until late in the disease. Affected trees often have branch loss and slow, rounded crown growth (Figure 1). In units C and F, Heterobasidion root disease could have been a predisposing factor in dead grand fir that had fir engraver beetle activity where we did not detect root disease. The pine infecting species of Heterobasidion was detected in dead, tipped out lodgepole pines in unit F. Small diameter lodgepole competing in mixed stands with grand fir often develop root disease from either this pathogen or Armillaria. Schweinitzii Root and Butt Rot Douglas fir was being killed by this disease on units D and G. The disease was identified by the characteristic knobby root appearance of tipped out trees and by conks of Phaeolus schweinitzii at the base of diseased and tipped out trees. This disease causes girdling and hollowing of roots and tipping out at the roots Douglas fir as early as pole size, as well as extensive brown rot that can extend up the entire butt log and cause bole breakage in larger trees of many conifer species. Presence of the disease on Douglas fir sometimes coincides with stress and damage to roots, for example in units D and G, roots were subject to spring high water or to root abrasion in rocky soils, respectively. Yellow Root Rot Spongy, damp, yellow decay indicating yellow root rot was found on units C and D on decayed roots and a well decayed stump. This disease is often detected on just one portion of a root system affected by several of the more aggressive root diseases previously described. This type of rot can be difficult to detect, as it is often on inaccessible parts of the root system deep within the soil, and is usually detected by pulling stumps or root systems apart once root systems are well decayed. Yellow rot is considered part of the mix of root diseases that is present throughout much of the northern Idaho Panhandle. It is likely broadly distributed in the cool, moist western redcedar and hemlock habitat types throughout the Hanna Flat project area, but is considered less important that the preceding three diseases. Cedar Laminated Root and Butt Rot Cedar laminated root and butt rot was common in the Hanna Flats project area and confirmed in unit F by laminated decay with brown colored fungal layers (setal hyphae) between the wood layers. This root and butt rot is one of the most common causes of the typical hollowed bases of western redcedar in northern Idaho. A related species (Phellinus sulphurascens) causes severe root disease and lower bole breakage in Douglas fir and grand fir. The Douglas fir infecting species was not detected in the Hanna Flats project area, and the species that affects western redcedar cannot infect Douglas fir and grand fir. Heart Rots: Indian Paint Fungus / Rust red Stringy Rot; Red Ring Rot / Pocket Rot The incidence of Indian paint fungus (Echinodontium tinctorium) conks (Figure 2) was high on grand fir and western hemlock for units C and D. This indicates that many trees of these units have substantial internal heart rot decay. Conks were also seen on a western hemlock in unit A, but incidence in this unit was low. 3

4 Indian paint fungus heart rot affected units in Hanna Flat where grand fir and hemlock had grown as suppressed trees in moist habitats and survived to become part of the canopy. The fungus only invades suppressed hemlocks and true firs through small branches that become engulfed in living wood. It does not affect pines, larches, or cedars. Bole injury does not cause infection, but any damage that causes a bark opening even normal loss of lower branches will increase oxygen getting into the heartwood and accelerate fungus growth and decay. Once conks are seen, as in the trees in these units, decay is considered substantial. More trees were likely to have lesser amounts of decay than could be identified from conks. This is because in affected units, many neighboring trees of the same species without conks had the same suppression and the same chance for infection. If any of the previously suppressed grand firs or hemlocks are retained in thinning or other harvest on these units, decay is likely to accelerate from either branch loss or bole injury. Heart rot caused by Phellinus pini was seen only on a dwarf mistletoe infected western larch in unit G, so levels of defect from this agent are not currently a concern. White Pine Blister Rust Pole to mature white pines were seen in units B, C, D, E, F, and G. Some trees were dead from white pine blister rust girdling their boles; others had bole infections that are likely to girdle and kill the trees. Yet significant numbers of trees were rust free or had cankers that were narrow and vertical and unlikely to girdle the trees. White pines on these units demonstrate their potential to produce impressive white pine stands. White pine blister rust has been the most significant cause of white pine branch loss, top loss, and mortality from disease in northern Idaho since it arrived in Because of this, the Forest Service has made intense efforts to select and increase resistance, and began providing seedlings with improved resistance since the early 1970s. Since stands that we visited ranged in age from 48 to 80 years, these trees we saw represent seedlings that survived through natural selection for resistance. Regeneration of white pine that was occurring under canopy in some units represents a further generation of natural selection (Figure 1). Whatever management is chosen, sufficient numbers of overstory western white pine survivors should be retained to provide local adaptation and naturally selected resistance in regeneration that can supplement plantings of white pine from the genetic resistance program. Western Larch Dwarf Mistletoe Western larch dwarf mistletoe was severe in canopy trees in unit G and absent in the western larch in units E and F. The severe infections in unit G will need special management to prevent infected canopy trees from infecting western larch growing in the understory or regenerating in the future. Western Redcedar Decline Dead tops were seen in clusters of western redcedar in units A and G (Figure 3). Smaller western redcedars beneath the canopy of other trees did not lose tops. Moisture deficits from 2015 and particular microsites and soils may have contributed to top loss. It is unknown whether the top loss will turn out to be a specific and short term effect of the climatic stress, in which the redcedars may resume growth and develop new (often multiple) tops. Otherwise, top kill could be a symptom of irreversible decline including Armillaria root disease. In this case, crowns will develop increasingly thin foliage and may either progressively die back or have sudden tree mortality. Since many mature and ancient cedars have a portion of the main bole that has died, there is hope that the patches of top kill will not progress 4

5 to kill the trees. Also, younger cedars with thin foliage in stressful years can reestablish a dense canopy in subsequent years. Insects Fir Engraver Beetle Fir engraver caused mortality of grand fir was evident during the site visit (units C and F) and recorded during the 2016 aerial detection survey (Figure 4), primarily in the southern end of the project area and scattered in the northwestern portion. Droughty conditions often stress grand fir, which decreases the trees natural defenses to bark beetle attack, including fir engraver beetle. Under normal moisture conditions, fir engraver activity is frequently associated with trees weakened by root disease. The combination of Armillaria and/or annosus root diseases infecting grand fir and the moisture deficits in 2015 likely attributed to the increased fir engraver beetle caused mortality in portions of the Hanna Flats Project Area in The best long term management option to promote resiliency to fir engraver beetle in the presence of root diseases is to limit or remove the susceptible species, grand fir. Mountain Pine Beetle Past mountain pine beetle infestations were observed in units E and G, in lodgepole pine and western white pine, respectively. Aerial detection surveys recorded scattered mortality from mountain pine beetle during the annual survey, except in 2015 (Figure 4). In 2015, smoke from wildfires limited the acreage flown during aerial survey and smoke may have masked signatures of damage agents where it was possible to survey. Mortality caused by mountain pine beetle over the past five years has been scattered and minimal in the project area. Forest density is one of the predictive variables included in most bark beetle risk models. Generally, susceptible host species growing in forests with an average basal area at or less than 100 sq.ft./ac are less likely to experience mortality from mountain pine beetle, Douglas fir beetle, spruce beetle and other bark beetles. Basal area measured at all FHP observation points of the Hanna Flats Project Area were above 100 sq.ft./ac and units C and D had the highest basal area of 220 and 260 sq.ft./ac, respectively. Other Minor Damage Agents The following damaging agents were observed in unit F during the site visit. Sequoia pitch moth was observed on lodgepole pine (Figure 2). This insect causes minor localized feeding damage to the bole and branches of pine trees. It rarely kills trees. Therefore, direct management of this insect is not warranted or discussed. Many lodgepole pine in this unit had forked tops, which are a weak point for possible breakage (Figure 2). The cause of the forked form is unknown, but it is possibly due to genetic or environmental factors. Bark of some larch trees were stripped by bear. Bear feeding on trees is common around the Priest Lake area. Rhabdocline needle disease was seen in one Douglas fir, and was noted because crown thinning from this disease resembles that from root disease. Incidence of Rhabdocline was not significant. 5

6 Insects that Pose Possible Future Risk and Hazard Rating for Insect Damage Evidence of pine engraver beetle was seen in only one dead lodgepole pine in unit E and no major activity was recorded during the past five years of aerial detection surveys. Pine engraver population size can increase in logging slash or downed green branches and trees after a storm. Localized, epidemic populations are capable of killing small to moderate diameter pine trees. Ponderosa pine is the preferred pine host, while lodgepole pine and western white pine may also be attacked by pine engraver beetle. Avoid creating green pine slash between January and June to mitigate localized outbreaks of pine engraver. As with mountain pine beetle, pine stands growing with less than 100 sq.ft./ac basal area are less likely to be infested by pin engraver. Douglas fir beetles were not observed during the field evaluation. However, this pest has been active in the past and it is likely to cause mortality to Douglas fir in the future, if scenarios that create prime breeding habitat are created. Typically, outbreaks occur after a disturbance such as windthrow or lowintensity fire that weakens, but does not kill Douglas fir. Douglas fir beetles increase in population size in the damaged and weakened hosts. The abundant offspring are able to attack and overcome the defenses of live Douglas fir. One short term management strategy to prevent outbreaks of Douglas fir beetle is salvaging windthrown and fire weakened Douglas fir promptly after these disturbances occur. Management activities that change the characteristics of highly susceptible stands will decrease the long term risk of mortality from Douglas fir beetle. However, thinning of Douglas fir should be avoided in northern Idaho in all but the driest habitat types where Douglas fir can grow, because of the prevalence of root disease. Stand susceptibility to Douglas fir beetle increases with increased proportion of Douglas fir in the stand, stand density, and age. In northern Idaho, stands that experienced the most mortality were stocked at percent of normal (basal area of ft 2 /acre) and >120 years old (Furniss et al. 1981). Several mountain pine beetle hazard rating systems have been developed that use age, size, stand density, percent host, or location (elevation and latitude) as factors in determining stand hazard to this insect. The most susceptible stands have lodgepole pine >80 years old, average diameter at breast height (dbh) > 8, and densities >100 ft 2 /acre basal area (BA), trees per acre (TPA), or a stand density index (SDI) Stands that are very dense (>800 TPA, >250 ft 2 BA, or >245 SDI) often have trees with thin phloem or smaller dbh, which are less susceptible to mountain pine beetle attack (Shore and Safranyik 1992; Randall et al. 2011). Expect lodgepole pine susceptibility to mountain pine beetle to increase as tree age, diameter, and stand density increases. Long term management options to promote resiliency to mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine stands include creating a mosaic of age and size classes across the landscape through regeneration harvests (patch cuts, group selection, clearcuts, etc.) (Amman et al. 1977), thinning stands with residual tree spacing targets of (Whitehead and Russo 2005), and/or promoting species diversity. Thinning could be considered where other resource objectives may not be met through regeneration harvests. Stands most suitable for thinning are those on productive sites and sheltered from potential wind throw. Silvicultural treatments are most successful and economical when implemented before beetle outbreaks occur. National Insect and Disease Risk Map (NIDRM) The 2012 NIDRM combined vegetation, terrain, soils, and climate data with risk agent models (combinations of forest pests and host species) to predict the amount of risk, or hazard within a 15 year timeframe. The 2012 map predicts risk through Hazard is defined as the potential that, without remediation, 25% or more of the standing live basal area of trees greater than one inch in diameter will 6

7 die over the next 15 years due to insects and disease (Krist et al. 2014). Information provided may support projecting the level of susceptible beetle habitat within the watershed surrounding treatment areas and projecting anticipated mortality levels during the next landscape scale outbreak event. This data is appropriate for landscape or watershed planning, partially due to the 240 meter (approximately 14 acres) spatial resolution. It is not appropriate for stand level management or decision making. To assist in assessing susceptible areas within sub watersheds, bark beetle hazard ratings for Douglas fir beetle and mountain pine beetle have been developed (Figure 5 and Figure 6; Krist et al. 2014). Note that these hazard rating models do not necessarily indicate the specific acres that are at risk, rather the hazard ratings should be considered as potential effect in the larger watershed and provided at the project scale for reference only. Information provided by these ratings can assist with estimating 1) level of susceptible beetle habitat within landscape surrounding treatment areas; 2) potential for severe outbreak occurrence in this greater landscape; and 3) estimates for anticipated mortality levels during the next landscape scale outbreak event. Hazard ratings for fir engraver beetle and pine engraver beetle has not been developed. Recommendations: Forest Health Agents that Need Consideration in Management Management choices will affect the outcome of many of the forest health issues detected or predicted to occur on proposed management units in the Hanna Flats project area. The effects will differ for stands left intact, thinned, or regenerated, with regeneration from either in growth or planting. Of the diseases and decays observed, root diseases will affect retained trees, regeneration, and planted trees and will be most severe for Douglas fir and grand fir; but may affect other species when young or after thinning. Rusty red stringy decay will affect retained grand fir and western hemlock trees and eventually, trees of these species that develop from suppressed advanced regeneration. White pine blister rust will affect western white pine retained trees, regeneration, and planted trees of western white pine. Larch dwarf mistletoe will affect western larch retained trees, regeneration, and planted trees. Cedar decline may affect retained western redcedar trees. Of insects, fir engraver, mountain pine beetle, pine engraver and Douglas fir beetle need to be considered as factors that could affect the health of retained trees, but generally not young regeneration. No Management Option Under the no management option, root diseases will continue to weaken and reduce productivity of standing susceptible trees. Root diseases detected in the project are considered diseases of the site, because once established, the pathogens are essentially permanent. Root diseases will continue to infect highly susceptible species (Douglas fir and grand fir). Root disease infected trees may be more susceptible to bark beetle attack (Hagle 2004). Bark beetle attacks or increases in insect populations and mortality may be even more likely if there are other environmental stressors such as drought, wind throw, or defoliation. Gaps from dead trees will allow natural regeneration, mostly of the same shadetolerant, root disease susceptible species already present. Expect stand productivity, average tree age, and tree heights to slowly decline over time. Areas already declining from root disease will continue to be the most prone to continued opening of the stand through a combination of root disease and wind throw. For select areas where root disease effects are not yet causing significant growth loss or 7

8 mortality, delaying management may capitalize on current stand growth. For example, on a portion of Unit B, Douglas fir and grand fir were growing well without crown symptoms of thinning due to root diseases or crown rounding from reduced terminal growth. In the vegetation series at Hanna Flats (mostly western hemlock) western redcedar will be best able continue to develop in low light and natural densities in stands with no management option (Graham 1982, 1988; Koenigs 1969). Under the no management option, heart rot decay from Indian paint fungus in affected units will progress, and breakage from wind and snow will occur, with greater breakage as stands begin to open up. Also, large western larch with dwarf mistletoe will slowly succumb to this disease. The most recent estimate of mortality in Region 1 of the Forest Service, for larch in the highest infection categories, is about 8 percent per decade (Jackson et al. 2016). However, standing infected trees will have low growth potential and may cast heavily infected, dead, witches broom branches as fuels. Under the no management option, western white pines will continue to grow in competition with grand firs and Douglas firs. The opportunity for these trees to contribute to western white pine regeneration may be lost if the western white pines succumb to mountain pine beetle before restoration management. Current activity and a potential increase in fir engraver beetle activity could further degrade vegetation conditions under the no management option. If environmental conditions became favorable to Douglasfir beetle or mountain pine beetle, the predictive hazard models of the NIDRM indicate stands of susceptible host may experience extensive mortality. Damage by these causal agents will result in timber volume loss and add to standing and ground fuels. Regeneration Harvests Regeneration harvest to convert stands to species more tolerant of root diseases, such as pines and western larch, will increase resiliency and vigor of the future forest. Trees left on site as part of shelterwood or as seed trees should be species more tolerant of root disease. Grand fir or Douglas fir overstory trees that are retained could succumb quickly to root disease and associated bark beetle activity, and even some root disease tolerant trees can become infected after harvest. This happens because nearby stumps that are already infected or that become colonized with Armillaria after trees are cut undergo a massive buildup of inoculum. Fortified with nutrients, Armillaria is then able to direct its growth in the soil to find and colonize roots of other trees, both large and small. When harvesting pine species, avoid creating green pine slash between January and June to mitigate localized outbreaks of pine engraver beetle. If seed trees are retained and western larch seed trees are infected with dwarf mistletoe, these should be removed or girdled within seven years of seedling establishment to prevent the regeneration from becoming infected. Promoting western white pine, western larch, ponderosa pine, and western red cedar, where appropriate, after regeneration harvests will also reduce the potential for bark beetle attacks and losses from attacks when they occur. Younger, well spaced, and vigorously growing trees are able to produce natural defenses against bark beetles, and mixed species limit the proportion of trees attacked by any one bark beetle species. Regenerating western white pine should follow recommendations of the management guide (Schwandt 2013), including planting resistant rootstock and appropriately timed pruning to remove lower branches, which are most prone to infection by white pine blister rust. 8

9 Seedlings should preferably be planted as far as practical from stumps we suggest over six feet. Although stumps have often been used to provide shaded microsites and protection from trampling for planting seedlings, logs are a preferred alternative. As seedlings grow into saplings, natural resistance to root disease should develop in species tolerant of root diseases. In mixed plantings, precommercial thinning can promote individual tree vigor, and should be done at a time to ensure stem stability in western larch, the least shade tolerant species. Pre commercial thinning should retain root diseasetolerant species to the extent possible, but increased spacing has been shown to even reduce subsequent disease in Douglas fir on sites with Armillaria and Heterobasidion root disease, due to increased vigor of remaining trees (Filip et al. 2015). To reduce possible infection from white pine blister rust, precommercial thinning should not occur in western white pine stands without pruning. Commercial Thinning Commercial thinning is an acceptable management strategy in stands without root disease and in stands with low root disease activity containing abundant species more tolerant of root disease. For the mix of root diseases present at Hanna Flats, the most root disease tolerant species are pines and larch. Thinning is not recommended in mature stands of susceptible tree species affected by root disease as it can result in an increase in root disease infections and bark beetle activity, resulting in the rapid death of remaining trees (Hagle 2004; Hagle 2007; Hagle 2008). This is due partly to increased pathogen activity after cutting as previously mentioned, but in thinning, an additional problem is damage to boles and roots of living trees. In grand fir, such damage is a cause of new tree infections and infection centers of Heterobasidion root disease. Even light underburning in thinned stands, for example to reduce fuels, has been shown to increase Armillaria root disease in Douglas fir (Stewart 1990). Thinning lodgepole pine, Douglas fir while removing grand fir should reduce the risk of future mortality by mountain pine beetle, Douglas fir beetle, and fir engraver by lowering basal area a predisposing factor for attack. See the section titled Insects of Possible Future Risk and Hazard Rating for details on recommended stand density to reduce bark beetle hazard. Western redcedar can experience permanent decline and mortality after thinning. This problem is worst in western hemlock vegetation series, in old trees with narrow diameters, and where stands have been heavily thinned on either exposed shoulders or on slopes with eastern, southern or western aspects. There is less chance of decline on western redcedar vegetation series, in younger redcedars with the largest diameters, in trees that are <30 feet height, and when redcedars are somewhat open grown, or are on slopes with a northern aspect. Western redcedar may show signs of decline, including crown yellowing, crown thinning, or top kill in 10 to 20 years after thinning (Graham 2008, Koenigs 1969). In contrast, western hemlock is tolerant of thinning. Western hemlock fares better than western redcedar on western hemlock vegetation series and can have increased vigor and resistance to root disease after thinning. Thinning to shelterwood densities can aid western white pine restoration where the amount of exposure could make it difficult to establish western white pine using a regeneration or seed tree cut (Jain 2004). Some trees of root disease susceptible species could be retained, if too few trees of root disease tolerant species are available to shelter regenerating western white pine on exposed slopes. As with other thinning, expect losses to increase root disease susceptible tree species retained in shelterwood cuts. 9

10 Figure 1. Left: Armillaria fungus fans on low bole of diseased Douglas fir; Center: stem loss in grand fir from root disease and fir engraver beetle; Right: mixed ages of western white pine where an opening along a road allowed regeneration. Figure 2. Left: pitch on lodgepole in unit F is typical of Sequoia pitch moth attack; Center: lodgepole pine has forked form; Right: Indian paint fungus conk on either grand fir or western hemlock indicates substantial heart rot. Figure 3. Observations in unit A. Left: dense and suppressed trees; Right: dead tops on western red cedar. 10

11 Figure 4. Major damage agents recorded during the annual aerial detection survey between 2012 and 2016 in the Hanna Flats Project Area. 11

12 Figure 5. Colored pixels of raster data created by a NIDRM predictive model show the projected percentage of host tree species basal area lost due to Douglas fir beetle from , if there is no remediating management. 12

13 Figure 6. Colored pixels of raster data created by a NIDRM predictive model show the projected percentage of host tree species basal area lost due to mountain pine beetle from , if there is no remediating management. 13

14 Figure 7. Hanna Flats Project Area and proposed units where Forest Health Protection staff made field observations. 14

15 Table 1. Units, coordinates and descriptions of observations made by Forest Health Protection in the Hanna Flats Project Area. Unit A B B C D E Observation Point A B C D E Location N W N W N W N W N W N W N W N W N W N W N W Unit Information and Forest Health Observations Canopy is more WRC than WH, with rare WWP. Proposed regeneration clearcut. Larger western redcedar were in decline, with spike tops, thin foliage, and dead branches interspersed in crowns. Tipped out grand fir had Armillaria root disease. Hemlock with Indian paint fungus heart rot. Stand years. Canopy very mixed: DF, GF, WWP, WL. Intermediate and lower WRC and WH. Proposed thinning. Pole sized western white pines along road were growing well and had moderate numbers uninfected by blister rust. Armillaria was found on DF, GF, and ES. A dead SAF had evidence of borer damage but not root disease. One dying GF had Armillaria on flat area. Many other GF and DF on slope had good crown growth form that did not indicate stress. Canopy is GF, WH, a few WWP and WRC; WH intermediates and lower. Small GF and WH are suppressed. Proposed regeneration cut with seed tree retention. Many GF and WH of all sizes had Indian paint fungus heart rot. A dead, tipped out DF had yellow root rot. White pines were 14 15" dbh and one of the four was infected with rust, midway up the bole. >60% of WH and GF had Indian paint conks. Armillaria was present in GF and WH. Dead GF had fir engraver galleries. Canopy GF, WH, some WWP; smaller are WH and WRC. Proposed WWP shelterwood or commercial thinning. Many dominant GF and WH and intermediate WH had Indian paint fungus. Schweinitzii root disease caused 7" dbh GF tip out from loss of roots. Younger, small WRC and WH were thin and many had been tipped over from snow loads and not recovered. No blister rust in the four 12 13" dbh WWP. Yellow root rot was found in a well decayed unidentified stump. Armillaria was not detected under the bark of a dead face of a WRC year old stand, with large western larch in canopy, large dead WWP, regen is WH, WRC, GF, small healthy WWP regen. Proposed shelterwood. Large western larch were healthy, with no dwarf mistletoe and adequate green crown ratios. Past overstory mortality visible from GPS site was of large WWP with blister rust and one LPP. 15

16 Unit Observation Point Location Unit Information and Forest Health Observations E 484 E 485 F F 477 F 478 F 479 F 480 F 481 G G 487 G 488 G 489 N W N W N W N W N W N W N W N W N W N W N W N W A 9" dbh dead LPP had mountain pine beetles but no evidence of root disease. Wood borers in LLP. A 5" dbh tipped out WH had a twisted root system but no evidence of root disease. 48 year old stand in WH vegetation series. Canopy ~80% GF, 15% WWP, a few LPP, DF, and WL; regeneration 20 and lower are GF, WH, and WRC. Proposed thinning unit. Dead GF had fir engravers and annosus butt rot. Dead WWP had basal blister rust cankers. Dead GF had fir engravers but no evidence of root disease. Discussed that a 18" dbh WWP with a long, linear blister rust canker girdling only 40% of the basal bole would be appropriate to retain. A dead GF with a broken bole had fir engraver but no evidence of root disease. Discussed that a WWP with 10" dbh and 80% girdling would be appropriate to thin. 8 of 20 living WWP 9 to 15" dbh had bole cankers of blister rust, and some of those were walling off or outgrowing the cankers. LPP had split tops without pathogenic cause, so likely genetics or environment. Some also had sequoia pitch moth. Crown thinning in a DF was due to Rhabdocline needle disease, not root disease. Some WL but not WWP had bear damage. WRC stumps had laminated butt rot. Small tipped out LPP had evidence of pinetype Heterobasidion decay. Vegetation series transitions from WRC in wet swale to dry ridge, BA 130; Canopy: WWP, Larch, DF, LPP, WRC, PP transition from wet swale to dry ridge. Proposed shelterwood. Western larch dwarf mistletoe infection was heavy, ranging from DM4 to DM6, and one 18" dbh larch also had "pini" heart rot decay. Two large western white pines had spike tops from rust girdling. Mountain pine beetle in western white pine. ES 6" and 18" dbh tip outs had annosus root decay and 7 trees of various species had "spike tops" from dieback. A living 14" dbh DF in rocky soil had Armillaria. A living 26" dbh DF was surrounded by conks of the fungus causing schweinitzii root disease, and such conks were present in other locations. A WL had DM5 dwarf mistletoe. 16

17 References: Amman, G.D.; McGregor, M.D.; Cahil, D.B.; Klein, W.H Guidelines for reducing losses of lodgepole pine to the mountain pine beetle in unmanaged stands in the Rocky Mountains. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT 36. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 19 p. Filip, G.M.; Bronson, J.J.; Chadwick, K.L. [and others] Precommercial thinning in mixed species conifer plantations affected by Armillaria and Heterobasidion root diseases in west central Oregon and Washington: 30 year results. Forest Science. 61(5): DOI: /forsci Furniss, M.M.; Livingston, R.L.; McGregor, M.D Development of a stand susceptibility classification for Douglas fir beetle. In: Hazard rating systems in forest pest management: Symposium Proceedings, Athens, GA Tech. Coordinators: Heddon, R.L.; Barras, S.J.; Coster, J.E. USDA For. Serv., Washington, D.C. GTR WO 27, p Graham, R.T Influence of tree and site factors on western redcedar's response to release: A modeling analysis [Thuja plicata, Oregon, Washington, Montana]. USDA Forest Service Research Paper INT 296 (USA). Graham, R.T Influence of stand density on development of western white pine, redcedar, hemlock, and grand fir in the Northern Rocky Mountains. In: Proceedings Future Forests of the Mountain West: A Stand Culture Symposium. General technical report INT 243. US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station (USA). Hagle, S.K Management guide for root diseases. Forest Health Protection and State Forestry Organizations Root Disease Management Guide Hagle, S.K Management Guide for Annosus Root Disease, Heterobasidion sp. (Fir annosum). Forest Health Protection and State Forestry Organizations. Hagle, S.K Management guide for Armillaria root disease, Armillaria ostoyae (Romagnesi) Herink. Forest Health Protection and State Forestry Organizations Hoffman, J.T Management Guide for Schweinitzii Root and Butt Rot, Phaeolus schweinitzii (Fr.) Pat. Forest Health Protection and State Forestry Organizations. Jackson, M.B.; Hayes, C.J.; Taylor, J.E.; Ferguson, B.A Effects of thinning and overstory removal on western larch and western larch dwarf mistletoe. Forest Science. 62(2): Kearns, H Management Guide for Indian Paint Fungi Echinodontium tinctorium (Ellis and Everh.) (=Fomes tinctorius) Forest Health Protection and State Forestry Organizations Koenigs, J.W Root rot and chlorosis of released thinned western redcedar. J. Forest. 67: Krist, F.J.; Ellenwood, J.R.; Woods, M.E.; McMahan, A.J.; Cowardin, J.P.; Ryerson, D.E.; Sapio, F.J.; Zweifler, M.O.; Romero, S.A National Insect and Disease Forest Risk Assessment, FHTET 14 01; USDA Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team, 199 p. Randall, C; Steed, B; Bush, R Revised R1 Forest Insect Hazard Rating System User Guide for use with Inventory Data Stored in FSVeg and/or Analyzed with the Forest Vegetation Simulator. USDA For. Serv. Forest Health Protection Report 11 06, 25 p. 17

18 Schwandt, J.; Kearns, H.; Byler, J White pine blister rust general ecology and management. Cronartium ribicola J.C.Fisch. in Rabh. Insect and Disease Management Series Forest Health Protection and State Forestry Organizations. Shore, T.L.; Safranyik, L Susceptibility and risk rating systems for the mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine stands. Forestry Canada, Pacific and Yukon Region, Information Report BC X 336, 12 p. Stewart, C.A Evaluation of Douglas fir seed tree mortality on the Clearwater National Forest, Idaho. In: Interior Douglas fir the species and its management, pp D.M. Baumgartner and J.E. Lotan, eds. Dept. Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA. 301 p. Whitehead, R.; Russo, G Beetle proofed lodgepole pine stands in Interior British Columbia have less damage from mountain pine beetle. BC X 402. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, BC. 17 pp. 18